Review Blog

Apr 09 2015

Where is galah? by Sally Morgan

Little Hare Press, 2015. ISBN 9781921894466
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Aboriginal themes. Aboriginal stories. Quest.
Australian animals.
In her distinctive style, Morgan shows Dingo searching the bush for
Galah. He can see Emu and hear Kookaburra, he can see Eagle and hear
Frog, but cannot find Galah. Each page repeats the last seeing one
animal and hearing another, but not being able to find Galah. Kids
will love to predict and read along with the pages as they are
turned. It will not take them long to work out the rhythm of the
lines on each page, and as each few sentences talks about hearing an
animal, the noise made by the readers and listeners will be
infectious. Kookaburra, Crocodile, Frog, Mouse as well as Numbat
all have their own noises which the kids will love to replicate,
loudly.
On each colourful page readers will be excited to find a range of
animals almost hidden in the swirls and patterns. They will easily
recognise features of the Australian bush and learn the names of
animals they do not know and laugh knowingly when Dingo is tired of
his search and does what all tired children do.
This is a charming book. I can easily imagine small children
reveling in the features of the animals shown, learning to make the
noise that animal makes and learning something new about the
environments in which they live. Morgan's enchanting imagery begs to
be copied by younger readers with paint, crayon and paper. Their
colourful efforts will make a splash in any classroom or on the
fridge at home.
Fran Knight